(1) Technical Field
The present invention relates to a remote controlled toy, and more particularly to a dual-wheeled, remotely controlled skateboard.
(2) Description of Related Art
Remotely controlled (RC) vehicles have long been known in the art. RC vehicles typically include four wheels, with the front two being devoted to steering, while the rear two are attached to a drive train for propulsion. In production, a problem associated with creating a RC vehicle with four wheels is the additional costs of a servo mechanism to control the steering, and the additional costs of four as opposed to two wheels.
Furthermore, when turning an RC vehicle that includes four wheels, the vehicle cannot turn on the spot. In other words, the turning radius for a four-wheeled RC vehicle requires that the RC vehicle travel either forward or backward in an arc. Because of this constraint, four-wheeled RC vehicles cannot spin in place or make extremely tight turns, and instead, must often make a several point turn.
Additionally, the wheels are typically permanently affixed with the body of the RC vehicle. In circumstances where the wheels are not permanently affixed, the wheels are held on by bolts or nuts, requiring the use of tools to remove the wheel. Should a prior art RC vehicle be used in a terrain where a different type of wheel would be advantageous, either the wheel cannot be changed, or changing the wheels requires considerable time and effort.
As an improvement over the prior art, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/181,698, entitled, “Remotely Controlled Vehicle with Detachably Attachable Wheels,” discloses an RC vehicle having two quick-release interchangeable drive wheels. Because the invention disclosed in application Ser. No. 11/181,698 has only two wheels, in operation a rotary force is created that causes the invention to spin around itself. In some circumstances, it may be desirable to use a dual-wheeled RC vehicle that does not spin around itself.
Thus, a continuing need exists for a dual-wheeled, RC vehicle such as a RC skateboard that includes a device to prevent the RC skateboard from spinning around itself.